Small communities can be fertile for drama. And the ethics of privacy and disclosure around relationships is complicated – further complicated by the politicised context of marginalised communities.

A few partners of trans guys have voiced concerns about submitting to DUDE when they know that the magazine will be circulated among their community. But sometimes the stories that are hardest to tell are the ones we most need to hear.

So for DUDE 3 we’re welcoming submissions of anonymous fragments – for little snapshots that would be difficult to develop into a whole article or story without giving too much away.

Some topics you might want to explore:

subcultural hierarchies

awkward sex stories

scene drama

political controversy

trans guys being jerks

Put “DUDE #3 SUBMISSION: FRAGMENT” into the subject line and email to DUDEmag.special(at)gmail.com

Don’t see yourself in this picture?

We’d really like to see a diversity of bodies, aesthetics, identities and opinions in DUDE.

We’d especially love to get more submissions from those who are often marginalised and underrepresented in trans media, such as people of colour, older people and people with disabilities. Submissions from Australia and New Zealand will be highly regarded, but submissions are open to everyone world wide.

Also we’re doing photo shoots in Melbourne this Saturday and in Sydney up to May 20. Get in contact asap if you’re interested in taking part:

Heya, this is Lia Incognita! I’m one of the three guest editors for DUDE 3: Lovers. DUDE is usually made by trans guys but for this issue we also welcome work produced by their lovers or others about sex and relationships. Submissions close at the end of May and we need more!

Who are you?

Well, I’m part of the anti-racist, anti-sexist queer performance trio, the Ladies of Colour Agency, so there’s my credentials for being a third of something. I also write for Asian-Australian arts and culture magazine, Peril, and (with Max Attitude) at queer hanky code blog flagging opinicus rampant, and I’ve been an associate editor at The Scavenger.

More generally, I’m stubborn, ambivalent, greedy and righteous as you might expect from a pansexual polyamorous agnostic switch type, mega lazy, mega ambitious (like finger in every pie but delivered to bed please) and a little bit bossy. Also I’m a cissexual woman but in print I prefer gender-neutral pronouns such as ey/em/eir.

What do you want?

Your submission! And I want it to be pithy, intimate, detailed and unique. I think the strongest submissions I’ve read so far have been the ones that have a small focus, fleshed out to fullness. Don’t try to represent all trans guys or lovers because the magazine gets repetitive quickly if the submissions are all general and abstract. I mean, you can go abstract, go deep into thoughts and feelings and ideologies, but anchor it in your experiences. You don’t need to be a writer. Just tell your own story – and not your whole life story but the meatiest parts. A remark that you mulled over for days. A glance that made your heartbeat boom. The aftershocks through your sense of self. Yeah?

Can you be more specific?

Sure. I’ve been mostly looking at the text submissions, maybe Nyx can talk later about what we’d like to see in image submissions. We’d be interested in advice columns & how to guides, eg how to come out to your family about your partner transitioning. We’re taking letters to the editor on the previous issue too, and we might even take personals ads! (I’ll talk about that more later.) We’ll take fiction and erotica, as long as it also touches on some ideas and issues too. And of course you can submit anonymously or under a pseudonym.

have you left a transitioning lover? We would really like to hear stories of transition break ups – what went wrong?

But we’re open to all submissions, not just on these topics. Feel free to run ideas by us, we’re happy to talk about your submission even if you haven’t yet written a draft. Email dudemag.special[at]gmail.com or chat to us on the Facebook event here. I’ll post more ideas and topics next week. Submission guidelines are here.